The present invention relates to a laundry waste water treatment and wash process, and in particular, to such a process using ozone as a cleaning and disinfecting agent. The invention is an improvement over U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,556, issued Mar. 24, 1992, to the assignee of the present invention. The disclosure and technologies discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,556 are incorporated herein by way of reference.
Ozone, a gas at room temperature formed by a combination of free individual oxygen molecules, is a powerful oxidizing agent, and as such, is highly efficient in the removal of soil and other contamination materials from textiles. In the prior patent, a process for washing laundry using a closed-loop wash water system was disclosed in which a wash water supply is ozonated and delivered to a series of washing machines for washing laundry. The used wash water is collected at the end of the cycle and recirculated back to the storage means for re-use. The waste wash materials, such as soil, lint and so forth, are removed from the wash water at the end of the wash cycle prior to it being recycled back to the supply. Filtering, recirculating and replenishing wash water lost during the washing process are among the process steps disclosed in the patent.
Whereas the prior discussed process operates quite satisfactorily for the purpose of washing clothes, the present invention relates to an improved process for accomplishing an improved result, and in particular, to an improved method of mixing the ozone with the wash water and an improved temperature control system which generates ozone (O.sub.3) and hydroxyl (HO), which aids in the cleaning and decontamination process. In particular, it has been found that cool and undried air will generate a high percentage of hydroxyl along with ozone when used with the corona generator of the present invention. Furthermore, ozone entrainment is enhanced by using a liquid ring vacuum pump which generates a vacuum in the flow line between the ambient air inlet across the ozone generator and out to the storage tank. The liquid ring pump acts as a mixer when handling saturated vapor gas mixtures, and this greatly increases the effective capacity of the pump in order to draw increased amounts of ozone for entrainment into the wash water being held in the system.
With the present invention, the process and apparatus shown and described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,556 is much more efficient and greatly enhanced for the purposes described.
Among the objects of the present invention are the provision of an improved laundry waste water treatment system using ozone for cleaning and decontamination laundry materials, which saves water, eliminates the need for hot water, soap and chemicals, and greatly reduces the cost of operation.
Another object is the provision of an improved laundry treatment system which generates a high percentage of hydroxyl in combination with ozone to enhance the cleaning process.
A still further object of the present invention is the provision of a laundry wash system using generated ozone entrained in the wash water having an improved ozone entrainment system to increase the efficiency of the ozone wash process.
These and other objects will become apparent with reference to the following drawings and specification.